Starting Five + Second Unit
As we’ve already discussed, the Clippers recent success on the court can be credited to many factors that fit nicely together like pieces of a puzzle.
The health of their roster has allowed the team to play together consistently, find their individual roles, and establish their identity as a team. Key additions at the trade deadline and via the buyout market helped them make their roster even stronger and more versatile.
This has all lead to the Clippers featuring one of the deepest rosters in the NBA, which can be seen when taking a look at the numbers for their starters and second-unit five-man rotations.
Their new starting lineup of Patrick Beverley, Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, Marcus Morris, and Ivaca Zubac has a net rating of 19.4 (119 Offensive Rating, 99.6 Defensive Rating) in 124 minutes together over eight games. This is more than double their previous starting five’s (replace Morris for Mo Harkless) net rating of 9.3 (114.8 Offensive Rating, 105.4 Defensive Rating) in 214 minutes over 18 total games.
Their second unit is putting up even more staggering numbers together. The five-man lineup of Reggie Jackson, Lou Williams, Landry Shamet, JaMychal Green, and Montrezl Harrell is outscoring opponents by 35.7 points per 100 possessions in 60 minutes played over seven games together.
The roster is deep, and full of offensive weapons and defensive versatility that lead to the Clippers being a dangerous team no matter who is on the court. Opponents struggle to keep up with their starters and their bench units allowing Los Angeles to keep the pressure on for an entire game.
While we’re still not sure when (or if) the NBA season will return, or in what capacity it may do so, we can know that the Clippers will be a team to be taken seriously once it does.